Liberty architecture
Houses with curved fronts, plant ornament and ironwork — Casa Galimberti best known.
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An early nineteenth-century city gate east of central Milan, two facing classical buildings on either side of the road with columns and inscriptions. The gate itself is not medieval: it was built under Austrian rule on the site of an older gate that formed part of Milan's Spanish walls, and its neoclassical style reflects the taste of that period. What gives it importance to a visitor is what surrounds it: the Porta Venezia district is among Milan's most architecturally distinctive, holding the city's largest concentration of Liberty architecture — the Italian version of art nouveau. Houses with curved fronts, plant ornament, wrought iron and mosaic, the best known being the nearby Casa Galimberti. Beside it are the Porta Venezia public gardens, steps away: the largest green space in central Milan, holding a natural history museum and a planetarium. The gate itself is a few minutes and is not entered, but it makes a good starting point for a walk through the district. Free and open, with a metro station of the same name.
Houses with curved fronts, plant ornament and ironwork — Casa Galimberti best known.
The gate stands on an older one from a fortification system now gone.
Central Milan's largest green space, with a natural history museum and planetarium.
East of central Milan, on the inner ring
The Italian version of art nouveau in the early twentieth century, named after the London store Liberty, which sold designs in that manner. It is marked by curved lines, plant ornament, wrought iron and coloured mosaic. Milan is among Italy's richest cities for it, and Porta Venezia is its centre.
Start at the gate, walk Via Malpighi for Casa Galimberti and Casa Guazzoni with their ornamented fronts, then come back towards the public gardens for a rest. The whole route is about an hour and free, and is among the best walking in Milan off the usual visitor route.
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